Blippar raises another £28m as AR start-up's losses mount

Blippar, one of Britain's most-hyped technology start-ups, is raising another $37m (£28.2m) from investors amid mounting losses.

Sky News has learnt that the company, which creates augmented reality (AR) experiences for consumer goods manufacturers such as Coca-Cola and Nestle, has secured commitments for the new funding in the last few weeks.

The latest fundraising will take the total amount of capital raised by Blippar since its 2010 launch to more than $150m.

Sources said the company, which has drawn scepticism about a mooted $1bn-plus valuation, had lined up existing investors to fund a Series-E round through a combination of new cash and the conversion of loan notes.

Blippar is run by Ambarish Mitra, its founder, who has described in grand terms the company's long-term objectives as a provider of AR and artificial intelligence-related products.

Speaking in 2015, he said it was "a pivotal time for the image-recognition industry".

"While the digital advertising and marketing communities have been quick to capitalise on the potential of our technology to engage audiences with branded experiences, we have barely scratched the surface in terms of the potential impact that our technology can bring to other industries, particularly education, healthcare and charities.

"This funding brings us closer to our ultimate goal of creating a new kind of cognitive behaviour, one that enables us to instantaneously access information and content directly from any of the physical objects or collateral in the world around us."

However, Mr Mitra has also been the focus of some controversy about his career path.

The Financial Times reported last year that he had never attended the London School of Economics, despite having said he was a student there.

Blippar's shareholders include Qualcomm Ventures, the hedge fund Lansdowne Partners and Candy Ventures, the investment vehicle of the property investor Nick Candy.

Accounts filed at Companies House show that Blippar made a loss of £34.4m in the year to March 2017, up from a £24.2m loss reported for a 16-month period 12 months earlier.

The company said the losses were the result of it "prioritising investment into cutting-edge technology over short-term profits".

It added that it had discontinued operations in Japan, the Netherlands and Turkey as it sought to cut spending.

Responding to an enquiry from Sky News, a Blippar spokeswoman said: "Blippar, the leading augmented reality and computer vision company, has raised a $37m funding round that will help the company reach its profitability goal within the next 12 months.

"The round, which was led by Candy Ventures and Qualcomm Ventures (the investment arm of Qualcomm Incorporated), was supported by all of the current investors."